Good recession sorghum harvests strengthen stocks in production areas

Livelihoods of rural and urban households continue to be disrupted by the impacts of measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, income from migration and remittances continue to be limited by the cost of transport and border closures.

In the Lac region, insecurity continues to cause population movements. Households depend on solidarity between hosts and displaced population and on markets for their consumption. The likely assistance would be sufficient to improve the situation significantly, but FEWS NET does not have up-to-date information at the time of posting of these messages that can confirm the impact of assistance. In Tibesti, an improvement in the security context is reported, marked by the signing of a rallying protocol on March 19, 2021, between rebel factions operating on the Chad-Libyan borders and the government. However, food flows from Libya remain below a normal year.

Thanks to good residual humidity, an increase in off-season production, compared to the average, is recorded in most areas (Guéra, Mayo Kebbi Salamat). I Lac region, the expected harvest estimates for the off-season maize are slightly above average. The pastoral situation is generally good with the exception of certain localities such as North Kanem where a decrease in the availability of pastoral resources is reported.

As a result of the decline or depletion of their cereal stocks, the displaced population and host households in the Lac region manage to barely meet their basic food needs and are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) in the absence of assistance. In the BEG, Kanem, Ouaddaï and Wadi Fira, household food access is limited by low household income; they are in Stress (IPC Phase 2). In the rest of the country, households are minimally food insecure, despite the impacts of COVID-19, due to off-season products boosting household stocks.